Sarfraz Ahmed Might Not Be Captain In Test Series

Pakistan completely thrashed India and England in the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 under the captaincy of Sarfraz Ahmed so apparently his captaincy skills cannot be doubted underestimated. With Misbah-Ul-Haq retired from international cricket, the Test cricket captain’s slot remains vacant, there’s a lot of speculation regarding who will be the next captain. Shahryar Khan; Chairman of PCB, in an interview with The Express Tribune, appreciated the captaincy skills of Sarfraz Ahmed as an ODI and twenty-twenty coating and also hinted at him being the next Test captain. He mentioned:

“Sarfraz is already the vice-captain [of the Test team]. Misbah has retired. Our next series is in October against Sri Lanka, and I’ll have to announce the new captain before that. So you can conclude yourself who we are going to choose.”

“I have already consulted a lot of people on this matter and I am planning to consult a few more but, truth be told, Sarfraz has delivered very well as the captain of the ODI and T20I side.”

Pakistan’s first face-off against India in the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 involved some bad decisions by the captain that resulted in a loss against India. Sarfraz however made proper judgments of the game and gave decisions accordingly allowing the players to outclass some of the best teams in the world including England and Pakistan. Sharyar Khan concluded:

“Sarfraz has matured a lot. He made a lot of significant changes in bowling and batting during the Champions Trophy. I was a little worried when he sent Hafeez to lower down the order during the final [against India], but Hafeez delivered with a quick-fire fifty. These are the kinds of judgments that make a good captain.”

Next Captain?

If it weren’t for Sarfraz Ahmed’s skills and accurate decisions, we wouldn’t have won the tournament. Entering the tournament ranked number 8th and losing against India by over 124 runs, nobody was sure of Pakistan’s progression in the tournament but Sarfraz Ahmed delivered well and performed up to expectations. Shahryar Khan who is to retire in August has to select the new Test captain before October. Either way, Sarfraz Ahmed deems fit for the slot.